The Nature of Demons
by bluegalx
Summary: For a second there was a smile on his lips. There was only one person in the world that would leave flowers on Sessho-maru’s night table, and that was Rin."


The Nature of Demons

          The sun shone through the windows, making bright patterns of squares on the floor. It was a bit of a chilly morning, but the young girl didn't care. She pressed her face against the glass and stared, feeling a rush of excitement. She wanted to go outside. And that's where she would go.

          Rin opened the door and stepped outside, letting her bare feet touch the grass which was wet with dew. Rin stood for a moment, rubbing her feet on the ground. She then surveyed the yard, looking for something of particular interest.

          There was a flower. A big beautiful purple flower, and a kind that she had never seen before. Happily, Rin ran to where it grew. The girl looked at it for a while, it really was beautiful. She hoped that more would grow soon. She bent down to pick it, but then stopped. As soon as it was severed from its roots, it would begin to die. Rin wanted to make sure that more like it grew, and if they didn't she wanted this flower to last forever. She gazed at it for a few moments longer and then went off to explore, even though she had explored this place morning after morning since she had come to live with Sessho-maru.

          About an hour passed and Rin was bored. She had re-explored the area to her satisfaction, and held a small bouquet of dandelions in her hand. Eager to get back inside, she jogged back, slowing only to look once more at the purple flower.

          Rin opened the door quietly, in case Sessho-maru or Jaken were still sleeping. She felt a little nervous, she hadn't bothered about noise when she was going out. But when Rin entered there was an almost eerie silence. The thing about living in the castle was that no room was small. In most, especially the main one Rin was in, had a very distinct echo.

          The girl tip-toed through the castle until she reached the kitchen. Hunting through cupboards, she eventually found a small cup. Rin carried the cup outside through a small back door, where there was a well. She got a bucket of water and filled the cup up about three-fourths full. Rin took the bunch of dandelions and placed them in the cup. Happy with this, she carried the flowers up the long staircase to where Sessho-maru's bed chambers were.

          Keeping extra quiet, Rin walked down the hall until she reached a large wooden door. She edged it open to reveal a large room. The walls were painted white, although the early morning shadows made most of it look grey. The room was richly furnished, and against one wall was a large bed, which equaled the rest of the area in design. Underneath the soft sheets Rin saw the head and shoulders of her guardian, sound asleep. The girl crept towards the bed, she did not want to wake him up now. At the head of the bed was a small night table. Rin carefully placed the vase of dandelions on the table and then left without a sound.

          Sessho-maru's eyes opened slowly as he was aroused from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes with his one hand and sat up slightly, supporting himself on his pillow. He was glad when he realized that he would probably be relaxing the whole day, the dog demon rarely allowed himself leisure time. Sessho-maru looked about his bedroom for no reason other then that he was still to tired to do anything else. Eventually his eyes rested on the small table that stood beside his bed. On it was a few dandelions placed in a cup.

          For a second there was a smile on his lips, something that was rare and would never be seen by anyone else. There was only one person in the world that would leave flowers on Sessho-maru's night table, and that was Rin.

          The demon forced himself out of bed and got dressed. He didn't bother with any of his armor, he wasn't expecting to engage in any battles today.

          Sessho-maru walked out of his chambers and downstairs. He smelled bread cooking in the kitchen and heard the clinking of pans as Jaken scurried around making breakfast. _He really shouldn't be a cook_ the demon thought and shook his head.

          Sessho-maru felt a slight tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Rin smiling at him.

          "Good morning Sessy-sama!" she exclaimed, not having yet mastered how to say 'Sessho-maru'; "Did Sessy-sama see Rin's flowers?"

          "Yes I did" the youkai replied.

          "Did you like them?" the girl asked hopefully.

          "Yes" he said. Rin grinned and then jogged off to the kitchen, probably to get some extra food out of Jaken. Sessho-maru looked at her as she left. She was so young, probably six or seven, eight at the most. She would seem like a normal child except for the fact that she lived with a powerful dog demon. There was something about Rin that made her unlike other humans. Perhaps it was her boldness, or her strange naïveté that seemed to get her out of trouble rather then get her into it. Maybe it was because she didn't seem weak like other humans. Whatever it was, Sessho-maru was extremely fond of her.

          Maybe it was because Rin was the only one who wasn't afraid of him. Sessho-maru though about when he had been in that forest after his battle with Inu-Yasha. Anyone else, human or demon would have most likely run from him. But she hadn't, and that was why he had saved her and taken her in.

          Sessho-maru saw Rin re-enter. Seeing that he had noticed her, the girl walked over fast.

          "Rin's bored" she whined "will Sessy-sama play?" Sessho-maru looked at her hopeful face. Normally he would have turned her down, but suddenly memories of his childhood flashed through his mind. He hoped that he never was to Rin as his own father had been to him. It often seemed that the demon has reserved any love from his eldest son. And as much as he hated to admit this about a human, Rin was too dear to him for him to let that happen.

          Sessho-maru took her hand, and, smiling, said:

          "Yes I can"


End file.
